Currently, vehicles' movement is regulated by using fixed, passive or luminous signs. Luminous signs can have very diverse purposes, including traffic lights, light signals with incandescent lamps or with LEDs of different forms and colours, as is the case with in-flight refuelling where positioning lights and signs share the work environment.
All these signs have a static element which is very limiting. It means that they are signals placed in defined, fixed positions where they remain for the driver of the vehicle to see them, just where they have been placed and, in this way, the driver receives help or orientation towards the regulation of their movements or actions.
Nowadays luminous panels that enable signs to notify of different actions or content, which increases their flexibility, are already used, but they still suffer from being static. This limits them to a relatively precise spatial location, even though the mobile device carrying them may be in motion.
However, when establishing certain information in any part of the space is desired, as could be the case of in-flight refuelling or even when a vehicle must carry out an isolated manoeuvre without prior warning, it is desirable to be able to create a sign in the space directly in front of the vehicle where the driver or operator can see it within their field of vision. This is not possible with any signs currently in use, and requires a change in technology and philosophy for generating such signs.
The signs proposed here as the object of this invention consists of creating luminous points in different places in space from one or more fixed points that we call generating points. The device, object of this invention, is placed at said points, and targets those locations where the specific signs to be created are wanted.
These signs would consist of either forms or colours indicating an action to be taken by the driver or information relating to their movement, or precautions to be taken into consideration at a defined point in time.
In the state of the art, the following patents related to the object of this invention are known.
US2014097968. This patent discloses a display apparatus for a vehicle that includes a virtual device for displaying images, a detection device and a device for controlling the image. The device for displaying the virtual image emits a predefined light to enable a windscreen to reflect the predefined light towards the driver's eye. The predefined light emitted is to show an image. The device for displaying the virtual image shows the image in an area that appears as a virtual image; the image appears in front of the vehicle. The detection device detects a target that is an obstacle or an intersection. The image control device shows the image so that it appears below the target in the area where it is shown and then moves the image to a position corresponding to the target to be shown, whilst at least the width of the image decreases.
US2009189753. This patent discloses a display device that is mounted in an automotive vehicle. An obstacle situated ahead of the vehicle is detected by a camera, and its characteristics, such as speed, distance, size etc. are analysed by electronic circuits. An image displaying the features of the object ahead is emitted from a liquid crystal panel. The image emitted is reflected in the windscreen, displaying a virtual image to the driver. The virtual image is shown in the form of a patch surrounding the obstacle ahead, seen through the windscreen. The ways of showing the point change in different ways, according to the degree of danger of a collision, which is defined in accordance with the time taken for the vehicle to reach the obstacle. For example, if the degree of danger of a collision is high, the point colour is red-orange and/or shines very brightly. In this way the driver can easily recognise the obstacle ahead where there is a high degree of danger of a collision.
US2011298693. This patent discloses the display method used for the device described above.